"The heart of Cavan towns burgeoning art scene is the Gonzo Theatre" – The Irish Times

Rum and Vodka

The Gonzo Theatre presents: the “charming alcoholic monster” monologue 'Rum and Vodka' by Irish Playwright Conor McPherson at the International Bar, 4-9 April 2011

Can the ultimate bender help us figure out what is truly important in life?

Spend an unsavoury sex and alcohol-fuelled weekend in the company of a young man on the skids. Aged 24, he married the girl who after their late night drunken encounter at a party, had become... pregnant. Now with two daughters, he has grown up too fast and is now intent on making up for lost time.

A young Irishman with a drink problem tells of three momentous days in his life when his drab nine-to-five existence is obliterated in an escapist binge which threatens to engulf him.

Rum and Vodka, a concoction said to have the "power to wake the dead," is an enthralling contemporary tale of an Everyman’s sudden fall from grace.

Best known for his work The Weir, McPherson was described by the New York Times as ".. quite possibly the finest playwright of his generation" .

This is a solo performance by Kieron Smith, who after a successful run at Gonzo Theatre, Cavan, is excited to bring the play to Dublin audiences: “it is an honour to work on McPherson’s debut monologue play and to bring it to the International Bar – significant as it is where McPherson’s early work was originally presented”.

“Smith mesmerised throughout..... [he] succeeded in revealing this despicable character’s insecurity, and arguably rendered him almost sympathetic, regardless of what level he stooped to. The degree of sympathy the audience had for him probably depended on how much free will they believe he had left.” – The Anglo Celt

“I think my overall fuckedupness is my impatience... I went straight to the Flowing Tide on Abbey St, pint and a short, never drank so fast, I was glad of a drink, took the edge off my worries” – Narrator – Rum and Vodka

About The Gonzo Theatre

Established in 2009 by playwright Philip Doherty, The Gonzo Theatre is a company that embodies Irish modernity, is blistering with relevance, and pinpoints and surfs the zeitgeist with every production.